Sheriff's deputy rescues five from burning building in Victorville

VICTORVILLE - A sheriff's deputy ran into a raging apartment fire to rescue two women and three children early Saturday morning, officials said.

"The deputy saw the child's hand pounding on the (window) of the apartment and made the decision to go inside and look for her," said Sgt. Ken Lutz of the San Bernardino County sheriff's Victorville station.

No one was seriously injured, according to authorities.

"I (saw) him come out of the smoke from an upstairs apartment holding the girl, running down the stairs," said Jarrod Adams, who lives in the apartment complex and lost most if not all of his possessions.

The fire broke out shortly after 2 a.m. in the 14200 block of Rodeo Drive.

Residents who managed to escape told deputies people were trapped inside one of the eight units of the complex, Lutz said.

Deputy Arturo Ramirez could hear screaming from one of the units and ran into the burning building, officials said.

Ramirez found two women holding two small children, and he was able to safely escort them out of the apartment, Lutz said.

The frightened women told Ramirez there still was a girl in a back bedroom. When Ramirez saw the child pounding on the window, he ran back into the smoke-filled apartment until he found the child and brought the girl to safety, authorities said.

One of the children rescued by Ramirez had just celebrated her 11th birthday Friday, county Fire Department officials said.

Firefighters used a ladder to rescue a man from the second floor of the building, officials said. He was not seriously injured.

"I was awakened by the smell of burning plastic," said Adams. "I went to see what the smell was and when I opened my (bedroom) door, smoke barreled into my bedroom."

Adams yelled for his roommate, who after yelling back a few choice words over the situation, ran into the backyard.

"He instinctively ran to our back porch to grab the hose to put (the fire) out. I left out the front. After being outside for about two minutes I realized he wasn't there so I ran back in the apartment."

Adams' roommate yelled to him from the backyard, letting Adams know he was OK and for him to call 9-1-1.

"After that we watched it burn, and by it I mean everything we owned including our vehicles, which were parked directly behind our apartment," Adams said.

Firefighters were able to control and extinguish the fire, but several vehicles and apartment units were destroyed.

The fire displaced eight families. The High Desert Chapter of the American Red Cross was called in to help find the families places to stay.

The fire took about an hour to bring under control and caused an estimated $500,000 in damages. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.